After another upset-filled week, the AP poll looks different, with carnage in the Big-12 causing shifts:
Duke moves to No. 4, top three stay put
After coming away with a tight road victory against then-No. 25 Miami and handily beating Pittsburgh Saturday, the Blue Devils moved up one spot to No. 4. The top three ahead of Duke remained the same, with Villanova at No. 1, Virginia at No. 2 and Purdue at No. 3. A clash between the Blue Devils and the Cavaliers looms on the horizon. Virginia will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday at 2 p.m. in a battle that figures to be a make-or-break for Duke’s regular season ACC title hopes.
Carnage abound in the Big-12
It was a rough week at the top of the Big-12, to say the least. Ex-No. 4 Oklahoma lost twice to unranked teams—getting blown out by Kansas State and falling in overtime to Oklahoma State Saturday. Trae Young struggled from the field in both games, especially against the Cowboys, shooting 14-of-39 from the floor, helping send the Sooners tumbling to No. 12. Ex-No. 8 Texas Tech also fell twice to unranked Texas and Iowa State, sending them crashing to No. 14. After the carnage, No. 5 Kansas sits atop the conference at 6-1, ahead of second-place No. 7 West Virginia.
Florida jumps into poll, Wichita State, Arizona State fall
After a rocky start to the season, Florida has jumped into the rankings at No. 20 and the top spot in the SEC with wins in nine of its ten games. Their last time out, they downed then-No. 18 Kentucky on the road behind 17 points from Jalen Hudson. Kentucky also lost at South Carolina earlier in the week, sending it falling out of the poll for the first time since 2014.
On the other hand, early season darling Arizona State has imploded in Pac-12 play, falling to Stanford on the road for their fourth conference loss in seven games this season, sending it down to No. 21 The Sun Devils’ defense has struggled, giving up at least 84 points in three of their four losses. Ex-No. 7 Wichita State has also shocked many with two straight losses to unranked competition, sending it falling to No. 17.
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COMPLETE RANKINGS:
1. Villanova
2. Virginia
3. Purdue
4. Duke
5. Kansas
6. Michigan State
7. West Virginia
8. Xavier
9. Cincinnati
10. North Carolina
11. Arizona
12. Oklahoma
13. Ohio State
14. Texas Tech
15. Gonzaga
16. Saint Mary's
17. Wichita State
18. Clemson
19. Auburn
20. Florida
21. Arizona State
22. Tennessee
23. Nevada
24. Rhode Island
25. Michigan
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.